CDU lawmaker pushes for higher inheritance tax to curb wealth gaps

Stefan Nacke, chair of the CDU parliamentary workers' group, drafted a policy paper demanding higher taxes on large inheritances and gifts, claiming current rates are too low. Co-author Friedrich von Schönfeld, the finance director of the German Caritas Association, emphasizes that society should reward personal work rather than inherited wealth. The document warns that pending social reforms will make the tax imbalance more acute and that the protection of property must be balanced with communal obligations.

It calls for protecting business continuity over tax-free inheritances for heirs. The issue will be debated publicly at the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, though no judgment date has been set. Historically, the CDU has opposed raising inheritance taxes, making this a notable shift in internal debate.